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The disgraced ex-South Carolina governor is back on the trail seeking forgiveness for the sins that caused his political career to collapse in spectacular fashion four years ago: The mysterious days-long disappearance, the lies about hiking the Appalachian Trail and the extramarital affair with an Argentine woman that splintered the Republican’s picture-perfect family and shattered his presidential aspirations.

“I’m not in any way unaware of how I’ve let you down. I’m not in any way unaware of my well-chronicled failings as a human being,” Sanford told a Hilton Head Island Republican group last week, in the first public speech of his campaign. “But I am equally aware that God forgives people who are imperfect.”

Thanks largely to his sky-high name ID, Sanford, who spent eight years as governor and six years in Congress, is the early favorite in a crowded field of candidates for the Republican nomination to replace recently appointed Sen. Tim Scott as congressman for the 1st District. The real race is for second place and the right to square off one-on-one against Sanford in a runoff that will happen if none of the contenders win a majority on March 19.

As he hit the campaign trail here last week, Sanford – at times somber, at times enthusiastic about his return to the political arena, at times self-reflective – sought to win over Republican faithful by appealing to their sense of compassion.

“If you look, part of our shared humanity – and I’ve been on a journey on this front – is to say, ‘Every one of us, on some days we’re going to perform more magnificently than we ever could have imagined. On other days we’re going to perform far less [so],’” Sanford said at the lunch. “But that daily notion of getting back up and trying as best you can to make a difference where you can is really important.”

Crisscrossing South Carolina’s Lowcountry, Sanford is presenting himself to voters as an open book, willing to answer any questions they might still have about his fall from grace. He sent a letter to voters last week acknowledging that he “failed miserably in my personal life at the end of my term as governor” and inviting people to reach him on his personal cell phone number or email, which were both listed.